When you first attend college, senior year seems like a very far away concept, one you don’t need to think about for a long time. I’m here to let you know that senior year will be here before you know it and that you need to take every opportunity to appreciate college life before you venture out into the real world. This list is some of my best advice to not only surviving college, but thriving.
Get Involved
The best advice I can give to incoming freshmen or students who want their college experience to be worthwhile, is to get involved. Join that ultimate frisbee team, sign up for that poetry slam contest, actively attend your sorority meetings. Whatever peaks your interest, join in. I have been involved in so many groups throughout my four years and it has made our huge campus seem minuscule. So be proactive about putting yourself out there, it will help you make friends and keep you active and busy!
Use Quizlet
I found out about this amazing website and app my sophomore year of college and IT CHANGED MY LIFE. Quizlet lets you create your own study guides and will turn them into quizzes and games to help you study for tests. I use this for every test I ever have. Once I started using Quizlet regularly I noticed a significantly positive change in my grades.
Share or Scan Books
The majority of books that are assigned in classes also have a copy on reserve at the library. If you need certain chapters of a book simply check it out and scan the pages you need to your email! It saves you a ton of money and keeps everything in a digital form, which is a lot easier to bring to and from class. If you would rather have an actual book, though, consider sharing it. If you know a few people in your class, ask if someone would be willing to go in on buying the book with you. This will save you money in the long run, plus instantly gives you a study buddy.
Internship Credit
The University of Utah offers internships as school credits. So while you’re out there slaying the professional world, you still reap the benefits of being a student. This is literally the definition of a win-win situation.
Get to Know Your Teacher
I am terrible at math, so when I had to take two math classes my freshman year I was seriously nervous that I wouldn’t pass. I probably shouldn’t have skipped so many lessons in hindsight, but towards the end of each semester, I found myself on the cusp of passing and failing. I realized that if I failed I would just have to sit through ANOTHER terrible semester of algebraic topics. I started to email my teachers and ask for extra help from them, as well as showing up to all of their office hours and TA sessions. My teachers could see that I was putting in effort to learn the material and in the end (even though I BOMBED the finals) the teachers gave me enough extra credit to pass the class. Getting to know your teachers not only helps you pass the classes but also allows you to have a personal relationship with your professors who could write you letters of recommendation later in life.
Make Study Groups
Teachers will often encourage you to join or make a study group. DO IT. My junior year I started to take that advice seriously and form my own study groups and it helped me immensely on tests. Not only did I understand different takes on the material, I was able to explain it in my own way to others. When you’re able to teach another person about a concept that you’ve learned, you’ll be able to remember it for the test.
Take The Random Class
Zumba, Painting, Cooking, etc. One of the most amazing things about college is the fact that we are presented with a plethora of knowledge on things that we would never have known before. Taking a yoga class to start off your days will balance you. Learning to cook international foods will make you a more cultured individual. These random classes will fill your endless school days with some pizazz and will give you something to look forward to!
Learn About The DARS Report
Learning how to generate and understand your DARS Report will help you BIG TIME when it comes time to register for classes. Once I committed to my major, this report was my life. I am still constantly checking it to ensure that I am on track to graduate.
It’s Okay To Skip
Just don’t make it a habit. My first semester in college I definitely took a little too much advantage of the lenient attendance policy most classes have, and my grades showed! Once I learned how to balance school and skipping EVERY NOW AND THEN I realized how awesome it is to have the freedom to attend class or not.
Go To Events
Any and all events. Get MUSS tickets, attend the basketball games, show up to Geek Week in the library. The majority of events put on by the U include free food, and when you’re a baller on a budget like most college students are, free food is considered a gift from above. I also think that a ton of money that we pay for tuition is funding these events. If I want to get my full money’s worth I better show up to things.
Attending the University of Utah was the best decision I have ever made. I hope that you take advantage of all of the amazing things our school has to offer. Enjoy every moment because senior year will be here in the blink of an eye!